Recognition of customary marriages act 120 of 1998 3. We are the leading resource for freely available legislation in south africa and are used daily by thousands of professionals and industry leaders. Marriage act 1961 sect 39g obligations of each marriage celebrant 1 a marriage celebrant must. Amendment of section 2 of act 34 of 1956, as amended by section 1 of act 58 of 1971 34. It includes any commenced amendment affecting the legislation to that date. However a competent court may dissolve it on grounds of lack of consent on application by parents or guardian or minor themselves within certain periods patrimonial consequences must distinguish between cases where marriage is dissolved on ground of. Marriage amendment act, 1964 wikisource, the free online. The solemnization of marriages in the republic of south africa is governed by the marriage act, 1961. Marriage act 1961 sect 88e validity of certain marriages not affected by this part 1 subject to subsection 2, a marriage solemnised in a foreign country that would be recognised as valid under the common law rules of private international law but is not required by the provisions of this part apart from this subsection to be recognised as valid shall be recognised in australia as valid.
Pdf african customary marriages in south africa and the. South africa marriages and divorces 2012 overview datafirst. Application of act to the territory of south west africa, and repeal of laws of that territory. It does not deal with the dissolution of marriages, which is governed by the divorce act, 1979, or with matrimonial property regimes and the financial consequences of marriage, which are governed by the matrimonial property act, 1984. Marriage act 1961 sect 1 second marriage ceremonies. Page 2 guidelines on the marriage act 1961 for marriage celebrants july 2014 record of updates. Recently, video and podcast material has been added to the site, including indepth video interviews with some of south africas leading opinion makers. A defini tion containing these words was added to the marriage act 1961 the act in 2004. In 2009, the constitutional court of south africa confirmed the decision of the high court, cape provincial division, holding that the exclusion of widows of a muslim marriage from the application of the rights accorded to spouses under the intestate succession act is a violation of the equality clause of the south african constitution and. South africa also recognizes customary marriages through the recognition of customary marriages act no. Explanatory material on the marriage act 1961 for marriage. This article is within the scope of wikiproject south africa, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of south africa on wikipedia. The provisions of this act and the regulations made in terms thereof are applicable to all persons of all population groups who marry in the republic of south africa.
Formalities for marriage in south africa family law. Womens property and use rights in personal laws gender and. Marriage act 25 of 1961 sa sa gg 6670 came into force in south west africa on 1 february 1972 when the amendments made by act 51 of 1970, including the insertion of section 39a, were brought into force by rsa proc. Republic of south africa department of home affairs application for marriage certificate marriage act 25 of 1961, civil union act 17 of 2006 and recognition of customary marriage act 120 of 1998 dha to be completed in full and submitted at the department of home affairs office or to a south african embassy or consulate. To consolidate and amend the laws relating to the solemnization of marriages and matters incidental thereto. This is a compilation of the marriage act 1961 as in force on 1 july 2014. Start this article has been rated as startclass on the projects quality scale. M in the faculty of law, university of the western cape supervisor. Page 1 of 20 1 october 1992 to date this is the current version and applies as from 1 october 1992 to date, i. Whereas section 91 of the constitution of the republic of south africa, 1996. Djcd is responsible for managing divorces under these acts. Mar riage, according to australian l aw, is the union of a man and a woman, to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life. Rental housing act prevention of illegal eviction from and u.
These are the marriage act act 25 of 1961, which provides for civil or religious oppositesex marriages. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks. From the above definitions it is also clear that customary marriages concluded in terms of hindu and muslim rites are not affected by the act, and remain invalid unless they were solemnised in terms of the marriage act, 25 of 1961 or the civil unions act, 17 of 2006. Civil marriages are governed by the marriage act no. Positioning homosexualtranssexual marriages under the south african marriage act 25 of 1961 by glenton carlo matthyse 2750548 a minithesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of master of laws ll. Jul 21, 2012 amendment of section 12 of act 25 of 1961.
For nearly five decades, civil marriage in south africa has been governed and regulated by the marriage act 25 of 1961. The legal consequences of a marriage contemplated in the marriage act apply, with such changes as may be required by the context, to a civil union. You must register your customary marriage within three months of the date of. Act to consolidate and amend the laws relating to the solemnization of marriages and matters incidental thereto.
In south africa, marriage in governed by different laws. Act not to exclude operation of certain state and territory laws 7. Civil union act updated to 30 november 2006 act 17 of 2006 gon 1208, g. The marriage act only provides for monogamous oppositesex marriages.
Amendment of section 45 of act 47 of 1937, as amended by section 20 of act 43 of 1957 and section 19 of act 43 of 1962 32. You must register your customary marriage within three months of the date of celebration or entering into the marriage to make it legal. Three laws currently provide for the status of marriage in south africa. In this act registrargeneral, civil registrar, marriage officer mean respectively registrargeneral of marriages, civil registrar of marriages and marriage officer under this act. The solemnization of marriages in the republic of south africa is governed by the marriage act, 1961 act 25 of 1961. Marriage act 1961 sect 1 second marriage ceremonies 1 except in accordance with this section. Marriage act 1961 sect 94 bigamy 1 a person who is married shall not go through a form or ceremony of marriage with any person. Marriage act 1961 sect 39g obligations of each marriage. Pdf south africa has a mixed legal system comprising of transplanted european laws the.
Following the acceptance of the civil union act 17 of 2006, south africa became one of. However a competent court may dissolve it on grounds of lack of consent on application by parents or guardian or minor themselves within certain periods patrimonial consequences must distinguish between cases where marriage is dissolved on ground. Marriage act 1961 table of provisions long title part ipreliminary 1. Marriage act, 1961 wikisource, the free online library. Statistics south africa obtains the divorce data from the djcd for this dataset. Polity offers free access to south african legislation, policy documents and daily political news. Marriage act means the marriage act, 1961 act 25 of 1961. Section 42 of the marriage act 1961 the act requires that a marriage shall not be solemnised unless a notice in writing of the intended marriage, in the prescribed form, is given to the authorised celebrant solemnising the marriage.
Marriage act 1961 sect 88e validity of certain marriages. Recently, video and podcast material has been added to the site, including indepth video interviews with some of south africa s leading opinion makers. This notice is the prescribed form for this purpose. Be it enacted by the queens most excellent majesty, the senate and the house of assembly of the union of south africa, as follows. Customary marriages are recognised through the recognition of customary marriages act 120 of 1998, which came into effect in november 2000.
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